Balthazar
Balthazar is the God of Knowledge. His sphere includes learning and gaining knowledge, and crafting, especially magical and technological items. He is a relatively new deity, but his power is far greater than most of his age. History Among the potential of the first gods, Balthazar spent the entirety of the Age of Dreams and Pre-Conjunction Era as a shard of his former self. He was a wandering spirit without a physical form. He frequently took possession of other creature's bodies in order to affect the physical world. Balthazar is responsible for the Conjunction, as it was his power combined with Lithner Sythe's will that powered the Reality Alteration Engine to return Ire to Galea. With this, he also finally ascended into the Heavens to take his rightful place among the gods. Home Within the vast infinite expanse of nothing of Limbo lies a plane near the center called Lorewatch. When entering, one will instantly know they are no longer in Limbo, but instead the realm of Balthazar. It is filled as far as the eye can see with books that contain knowledge beyond comprehension. Among the vast library are devices of all kinds and variety of science and understanding. From the simplest of tools to advanced technology thought to be lost after the Ancients disappeared, this realm is a haven for those seeking to understand and know. It is thought that this plane contains all the secrets of the universe, including how to create a new one of your own. For this reason, many scholars and mages have found themselves trapped on the plane in the endless pursuit of knowledge. Relationships Balthazar has a close relationship with Gaspar and Melkyor with an entire religious order, the Order of the Three Wise Men, being centered around them. He also is friend toward other magical and knowledge seeking deities, such as Maed and a few other lesser deities. He doesn't oppose any other deity in particular, but he does not favor any deitiy that goes out of its way to abolish, withhold, or stiffle any knowledge. In this, he has come to blows with some gods, such as Garm, Solus, and Gulbuz in the past. Appearance and Emissaries Balthazar is typically depicted as an elderly man with a large sterotypical wizard beard, dressed in robes of gold, blue, and white. He often holds the Ascendancy Sphere in or above his right hand and is stretched out to the sky. He is also often depicted as having mechanical devices on his body, such as a mechanical arm, eye, or other body part. This mechanical part is always on the right side of his body. Servants The Librarian - The most powerful outsider within Lore Watch, save for Balthazar himself. He is a mighty being that ensures that all things are kept in order within the plane. He is large and imposing, donned in heavy armor lined with books and scrolls that hang from it, and he carries a massive hammer that he could use to crush unwanted visitors. Mechanical cables enter his head and connect to his armor. Lore Watchers - The Lore Watchers oversee the upkeep of the library. They appear as silent robed scholars that wander the plane ensuring everything is in order. They service the plane, organize the books and trinkets, and also act as a police force if needed. They will attack any who threaten the tranquility of the great library of Balthazar. Scribes - As their namesake suggests, the scribes are charged with writing every piece of knowledge in the universe into the library. At any given time, many scribes can be seen in nearly every corner of the plane deep in a text scribbling away. Nius Harken - Nius is a powerful wizard and Chosen of Balthazar that has dedicated his life to the persuit of knowledge and worship of the Loremaster. Church of Balthazar Balthazar is the God of Knowledge. There are no other gods, not even Maed, who have more knowledge than Balthazar. Indeed, it is said that he knows all things. This is something that many clergy would disagree with, seeing as how he is a god of gaining knowledge, study, and crafting magical items. If his purpose is to gain knowledge, then knowing everything would be contradictory. Even still, his library within his realm is the largest library in the entire universe and it is believed that every single piece of information ever known by anyone can be found within its halls. Worshipers and Clergy Clergy of Balthazar vary depending on region, but they all have a few things in common. They are all schollars, seeking to gain knowledge and perfect their art, whatever that art may be. They wear robes of gold and blue, with silver and white sometimes intermingled within. They dedicate their lives to the persuit of knowledge and are often spell casters of some variety, although this is not required to be within the clergy. Simply a desire to learn is the only thing they must have. Temples and Shrines Temples of Balthazar are spread across the entire world. They are all places of study and learning. Libraries and schools make up the majority of the temples dedicated to the Lore Keeper. The largest of these temples is the Great Library of Balthazar found in Bylos in Shadasha. The knowledge contained within rivals that of the Library of Mayrid. Holy Texts The Book of the Learned: This holy text was written by Balthazar himself before his ascention. It discusses rites and rituals to be performed, as well as how to properly study and learn. It contains the exact method of how to test hypothesis and gain knowledge. Holy Relics The Ascendancy Sphere: This is the sphere said to have reshaped the world which is what make Balthazar a god in the first place. Many schollars have noted similarities with Gaspar's Origination Sphere and in fact many have said they are the same item. Book of Infinite Spells: '''This well known item is said to have been created by Balthazar before be became a god. '''Maul of Insight: This maul is said to have been used by Balthazar before he ascended. It contains power that allows even the most dim-witted individual to be able to solve the most complex problems known to mortals. It is said that any who possess this weapon can use it to bring an age of enlightenment, or destroy the world. Magic Items Books, scrolls of all varieties, and any magic item associated with knowledge, learning, and crafting can all be found within temples of Balthazar. With that said, these temples can house literally any magic item, as the clergy often craft new items frequently in dedication to their god. Traits Hidden Knowledge: You have searched and studied for specific knowledge. Choose one Knowledge skill. Gain a +2 trait bonus to that skill. It is always a class skill. Multi-Crafter: In reverence for Balthazar, you have chosen to make many different items in his name. Choose any 2 Craft skills. Gain a +1 trait bonus in those skills. Knowledge Seeker: You delve into libraries, hidden or not, and other secret places, to seek out as much knowledge as possible. The study of magical crafts has assisted in your search since sometimes these places can be dangerous. You may cast detect magic once per day and gain a +1 to Spellcraft to identify magic items. Spellcraft is always be a class skill. Obedience Spend at least 1 hour reading a book you have never read and/or crafting a small useful item. The item does not have to be completed, but progress must be made. Do this all while contemplating new knowledge, things you've learned since your last obedience, and things you want to learn. Gain a +4 sacred or profane bonus to any two Craft skills or any two Knowledge skills, and Spellcraft. If you read a book again this bonus to Knowledge. If you made an item, gain it to Craft. If you evenly split your time gain one Craft and one Knowledge. The type of bonus depends on your alignment -- if you're neither good nor evil, you must choose either sacred or profane the first time you perform your obedience, and htis choice an't be changed. Exalted Boons #'Expansive Knowledge (''Sp): identify 3/day, fox's cunning 2/day, or secret page ''1/day #Placeholder #'Inspired Crafting (Su): The quest for discovery and innovation never stops. By applying Balthazar's deep insights into effecient time management and technical innovation, you can craft items in spare moments squeezed in while adventuring or otherwise serving your god's ideals. When crafting magic items while adventuring, you can devote 4 hours each day to creation and take advantage of the full amount of time spent crafting instead of netting only 2 hours worth worth of work. In addition, you can use fabricate once per day as a spell-like ability. Although you can't create magic items with the fabricate spell, you can use it to create items that you later enchance magically. Chosen of Balthazar The chosen of Balthazar is the mortal herald of the god of knowledge. The following are the abilities of the Chosen of Balthazar. *''Immunities (Ex): The Chosen of Balthazar are immune to aging, disease, Intelligence damage, Inteligence drain, mind affecting effects, and poison. They do not need to sleep but still must rest to prepare spells. He gains a 10 resistance to fire, cold, and electricity. *''Rapid Preperation (Ex): The Chosen may prepare spells in 10 minutes instead of 1 hour. They may also read any script or text ten times faster than normal, magical or otherwise. *''Instill Knowledge (Su): The Chosen may bless a number of people with knowledge equal to her Charisma modifier that lasts 1 week/Charisma modifier. This provides a +4 sacred bonus on one skill of the target's choosing that is any Craft, Profession, or Knowledge. He may use this ability any number of times, but the maximum number of people affected can never excede his Charisma modifier. *''Artifacter (Ex): The Chosen may craft all items, mundane or magical, at half the cost as normal. He may also craft up to 10,000 GP per day. *''Technologist'': A Chosen gains the Technologist feat. *''Spell-like abilities:'' **''Continuous'': Tongues, Comprehend Languages **5/day: Identify, Legend Lore **3/day: Greater Scrying, Anti-magic Field **1/day: Mage's Disjunction *Skills: **+4 Knowledge (Arcana), +4 to any 3 Knowledge, Craft, or Profession, +4 Spellcraft *Ability Scores: +10 Intelligence Category:Religion Category:Gods Category:Artifice Domain Category:Knowledge Domain Category:Magic Domain Category:Neutral Deity Category:Three Wise Men Category:Ultramar Elf Pantheon